Birdcage catch



Jne 26, 1923. 1,460,102

. L. J. LEON BIRDCAGE CATCH Filed June 8. 1922 Patented June 26, 1923.

UNITED STATES PATENT orifice.

LEWICKI J'. LEON, `Ofl CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO L. J. LEON MFG. CO., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

Bianoiieia CATCH.

Application filed June 8,

T all whom t may concern Be it known that I, Liiwicm J. LEON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Birdcage Catches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to catches for releasably locking the cage-body and pan of a bird-cage together.

One object of` my invention is to provide a catchconstruction which may be conveniently' used with that type of ca `e having a pan or base with an outward y and upwardly inclined marginal flange surrounding the base of the cageebody on the outside thereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide a catch construction wherein the bolt is slidably carried by said marginal flange and on the outside of the cage-body so that the bolt may be readily and conveniently reached formanipulation in locking the pan to and unlocking the same fromthe cage-body.-

A further object of'my invention is to provide a catch construction which will enable a catch to be used at eachfof the fourV corners of a rectangular bird-cage, thereby locking the pan to the cage-body atthe cornersl of the same and maintaining all portions of the base of the cagedoody `in contact with the seating surface provided on the pan.

The invention consists further in the matters hereinafter described `and more particularly set forthy in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings-,-

y Fig. 1 is a side elevational view o-f a birdcage provided with a catch constructionof my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; y

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is aperspective view of the catch bolt. i

As shown in Fig. 1, the cage comprises a body part 1y and a base orpan 2 having an outwardly and upwardly inclined marginal flange 8 surrounding the base of the'cagebody 1 on the outside of the saine. The parts l and 2 are separable, as usual in bird-cages,

1922. Serial No. 566,706.

and to releasably lock the same together I provide a catch construction, this including a catch at each of the four corners of the cage-body, as shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Figs. 2- and 8, the pan 2 has an inwardly projecting horizontal seating flange 4 eX- tending aboutthe same at thev base of the marginal flange 3. The cage-body 1 has a `corner post 5 at each of its four corners7 and these are connectedtogether at their lower ends by cross-strips 6, 6. To reinforce the lower end of the cage-body and hold it in shape, I provide a surrounding wire 7 retained in place by having the lower margin 8 of the strips 6 folded inward and upward about the wire, as shown in Fig. 3. The vertical wires 9, 9 forming the side walls yof the cage body extend to the bottoni strips 6 and are there secured in place in any suitf able manner. As illustrated in Fig. 2, the cross-strips 6, 6 terminate at the adjacent side edges of the corner posts 5, 5 to leave a clear space for the catch bolts to be presently y described.l

ythe four corners of the cage are alike in construction so a description of lone will be suflicient for all.

r Fhe catch comprises a bolt10 slidably mounted in a loop 11 provided on a plate 12 i Vsecured tothe flange 3 at a corner thereof.

The outer end of the bolt 10 is provided with a finger piece 13 arranged at right-angles to the bolt to limit the .inwardmovement of the boltinto locking position. As shown in the drawings, this finger piece 13` is integral with the bolt 10 and is formed by bending such end of the bolt into the shape shown.

The opposite or inner end 14 of the bolt 10 is movable into and out of an aperture 15 in the associated corner post 5, as shown in Fig. 3. The bolt 10 beingv onzthe flange 3 is `inclined upwardly and outwardly as shown in Fig. 3 to conform to the inclination of the flange, and its inner end` 14 yis bent so as to be substantially horizontal. This enables the end 14 to engage the wire 'Zon top of the same when the bolt is moved into locking position and holds the base of the cage-body 1 firmly against the seating flange l outward and upward along the plate 12 into the position 'shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. This carries the end 14 out of the aperture 15 and away from the wire 7, thereby releasing the cage-body 1 from the pan 2. Said end 14 being arranged at an angle to the bolt 10 provides a stop for .the bolt when moved into unlocked position and thus prevents the bolt from being completely withdrawn from the guiding loop 11.

By the construction-described there 1s a bolt 10 at each of the four corners vof the cage-body 1 and these engage the'base wire 7, thereby holding the cage-body against the seating flange: 4 at the corners of the cage and maintaining the pan and` cage-body tightly connected together but releasable so that the two may be disconnected whenever desired. Thus a suflicient and positive,v clamping means is provided between these parts and all portions of the base and the, cage-body' 1 `are held against the seating flange 4 of the pan. This prevents the cage-body from improperly 'tting against the pan and makes a closed joint about all portions of the same, thus giving the complete cage a finished appearance in additiony toA holding the pan properly in contact with the cage-body.

The base wire Z being carried' by the cross-strips 6,- 6, reinforces said wire against downward bending especially when engaged' by the bolts 10 and, in having the bolts engage the wire 7, none of the wires or other parts forming the'upright side walls of the cage-body are strained or bent by the catch boltsin locking the pan and cage-body together as with catches as heretofore made. Thus with a catch construction of my invention, none ofthe parts forming the side walls of the cage-body are bent or otherwise distorted and forced out of shape by the locking means. n

The end 14 of the bolt 10 being at an angle to the shank of the bolt, as shown, makes my catch device particularly applicable to pans with inclined marginal flanges', as shown. The plates 12? of the catch devices, in addition to providing supports for the bolts 10,v serve another purpose, namely, to more securely join the sections of the ange 3 togetherand hold them from bending at the corners of the cage. As shown in Fig. 2, the, plates 12 are-riveted to the flange sections which they overlap and in Fig, 4, is shown how each plate 12 is bent or made to conform to the inclination of the adjacent flange sections. TittiI the plates 12 so made and attached, the marginal flange 3 is braced landv reinforced at' the four corners of the cage.

v `Vhile I have shown and described herevention, it is to be of course understood that the details of construction maybe variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. v

I claim as my invention:

1. A bird-cage7 comprising a separable cage-body and pan, both rectangular in shape, said cage-body having corner posts, said pan having a marginal flange surrounding the lower end of the cage-body on the outside thereof, and catch means on said flange at each of the four corners thereof 4for releasably locking the cage-body and pan together at said corner posts.

2. A bird-cage, comprising a separable cage-body and pan, both rectangular in shape, said cage-body having corner posts, said pan having a marginal ange surrounding the lower end of the cage-body on the outside thereof, and bolts slidablymounted on said flange at each of the four corners thereof and having their inner ends movable into and out of apertures in said corner posts for releasably locking the cage-body and pan together,

3.A bird-cage, comprising a separable cage-body and pan, both rectangular in shape, said cage-body having corner posts and a base wire' surrounding the lower? end thereof, said pan having' a marginal flange surrounding the lower end of said cage-body on the outside thereof, and bolts slidably mounted on vsaid i'ange and having their inner ends movable into and out of engagement with sai-d 'base wire through apertures in said posts for rel'easab-l-yl'ocking the cagebody and pany together.

4. A bird-cage, comprising a separable thereof, the. inner ends of said boltsA being arranged at lsubstantially right-angles to saidcage-body and movable' into and out of engagement with said base' member for releasably` locking said cage body and' pan together.

5. A bird-cage, comprising a separable cage-body and pan, saidcage body having a base member surrounding the lower end thereof, said pan having an upwardly inclined marginal' flange surrounding said lower end ofthe cageebod'y on theu outside of the same, said pan having an inwardly projecting" flan-ge formingy a seat for the lower end of said cage-body,- and bolts sli'dably mounted on said inclined flange and having their inner` ends movable into and out of engagement with said base ineini i. iange at andconformlng to the inclination ber for releasably locking said cage-body and pan together and holding the former on said seat.

6. A bird-cage, comprising a separable cage-body and pan, said cage-bodyhaving a base member surrounding its open lower end, said pan having an upwardly inclinedv marginal flange surrounding the lower end of said cagebody on the outside thereof, anda plurality of bolts slidably mounted on said 'Hange and spaced apart about the same, said bolts having their inner ends movable into and out of engagement with said base member for releasably locking the cage-body and pan together.

7. In a bird-cage, the combination with a cage body having a base member around the lower end thereof, and a separable pan i with an upwardly inclined marginal flange surrounding the lower end of said cagebody on 'the outside thereof, of a catch device for releasably locking the cage body and pan together, comprising av plate secured to said flange and conforming to the inclination thereof, said plate having a guide loop between its ends and projecting above the body thereof, a bolt slidable in said loop and having its inner end at an angle to the body portion of the bolt and movable into and out of engagement with said base member, and a finger piece on the opposite end of said bolt.

8. A bird-cage, vcomprising a separable f ber surrounding its lower end and seating on said pan at the base of said inclined flange, and catch means carried bythe said t fiiange at each of the four corners thereof for releasably locking said pan and cagebody together, said catch means consisting of plates secured to and overlapping the adjacent sections of said flange at the corners and conforming to the inclination thereof for bracing theJ flange at said corners, and bolts slidably carried by said plates and having their inner ends movable into and out of engagement with the base member of said cage body.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I affix my signature this 2nd day of June, A. D. 1922.

LEWICKI J. LEON. 

